Civic body puts an end to daily fogging

Fogging, one the most discussed and disputed issues in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), is about to end as the civic body decided to stop carry out the procedure as per governments directions.

Though the civic body stopped fogging after a resolution was passed in 2006, it was restarted in 2010.

No more a daily affair: A Pune Municipal Corporation employee carries out fogging in the city. File Pic

The rule As per the government’s direction, fogging should not be carried out on daily basis. It should be done carried out only in closed environment where a patient is located. But according to former municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade’s order in August 2010, the fogging was carried out on a daily basis.

Various corporators in the passed had raised the issue of environmental damage fogging caused during General Body meetings. Ironically, it was based on a few corporators’ demand on August 5, 2010, that the civic body issued orders to carry out fogging on a daily basis.

“We had opposed the fogging during General Body meetings, as it is not good for health and environment. Despite an order issued by the high court, the PMC carried out fogging until recently,” Subhash Jagtap, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader in the PMC, said.

Officialspeak PMC Medical Health Officer S T Pardeshi said that though the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) had banned fogging, it was carried out on a daily basis as per civic chief’s temporary order issued in 2010. “Since it causes air pollution, MPCB has banned it,” Pardeshi said.

Commenting on the issue, Assistant Health Officer Vaishali Jadhav, who is also in-charge of the vector-borne disease control department, said, “As per government orders, fogging should not be carried out. It should be done only in those areas where dengue patients are located. Fogging on a regular basis need various things like 150 fogging machines, 15 utility van, 15 drivers, petrol, diesel and pesticides which costs around rupees Rs 4 crore to the PMC every year. The decision will help to save PMC a lot of money.”